Roberto's Nightmare
by Sorrelwing
Summary: Not sure about you guys, but I quite like Roberto. I think a fanfiction on his past is appropriate, since something happened to him with humans at a point. In this we find Roberto as a pet in Manaus, used by his owner to earn money from tourists. Eventually he escapes and joins the tribe, but I won't reveal further details. Read it to find out for yourselves! Enjoy!
1. From wild to captivity

The rainforest was quiet. Dark other than the moonlight casting silver light through the trees. In one tree, there was a little hollow, with a male and female bird sleeping inside. The male had a wing slung over the female's back, who was snuggled up against him. A white, gleaming orb was nestled beneath the female. The male had light blue plumage, with long feathers sprouting from his head, casting wildly over his eyes and making it appear like a blue mop. He had been teased by other birds for this, as the mop of feathers would cover his eyes unless he pushed them out of the way. The female's, while shorter and less in number, were still significantly longer than that of the average female's. Her feathers were very dark, unusually so for a female, darker than the male's. The shade neared cobalt, which was a particularly dark blue. Head feathers in macaws varied, but not many of them had crest feathers as long or unique as these two. It was highly likely that their chick would have similar feathers on his head. Not as many as his father, but a few more than his mother. His father had pale golden eyes, liquid amber, almost, and his mother had eyes of the palest blue. The chick would have similar eyes of either one. It was highly likely, also, that the chick would be incredibly handsome. His mother was stunning, and she had been flirted with so many times. His father didn't make all the females swoon but he had a cute appearance, with the mass of crest feathers.

Unbeknownst to the duo, their nest was about to be disturbed. A pair of gleaming golden eyes appeared at the entrance, sharp and cruel. Her tail flickered, and her dappled fur glowed in the light of the moon. It happened in mere seconds. The jaguar's paw killed the two Spix's macaw parents instantly. They barely knew a thing - it was that quick. Not seeing the egg, the jaguar scooped the two dead macaws out of the hollow and carried them away for many metres until she found her hungry cubs, dropping the bodies into her nest. As the bodies were devoured by the mother and her starving cubs, the egg lay there, still and alone in the hollow. Ten minutes after the jaguar left, a harsh, unnatural light shone into the leaves, scanning the tree trunk until it found the hollow. There was the click of metal, and a ladder was laid against the trunk. Animal eyes watched from the trees, wide and frightened at the sight of the humans. The torch shone into the hollow, revealing the egg. A hand reached into the hollow, carefully removing it and placing it into a pouch. Hurrying down the ladder, the human clambered into a car with a few others. Then the car sped away, leaving the tree and quickly speeding off toward Manaus.

_A week later_

The eggshell pieces lay in a trash can, while the chick was tucked up in a cage, surrounded by blankets. The chick was three days old, and barely had a feather on him. Chicks are born without feathers; they soon grow down, and as they get ready to fly, the adult feathers grow where the downy ones moult. He had a few signs of down growing over his pale skin. His eyes were blue - darker then his mother's had been. But he didn't know he had a mother. Or a father - he didn't know what those two words meant. But he did know what 'Polly' meant. Polly was his name. The humans had named him Polly, but he hated the name. It sounded weird, feminine, and he was a male. So the chick spent most of his time coming up with a decent name for himself. He listened to the humans speaking, but didn't find a decent-sounding name out of their speech. But he found one on his first week of life. Sitting in his nest, the chick had listened on the humans's conversation.

"When will Polly be put on the stall?" asked one, a large, chunky male with small glasses that seemed ridiculous, perched on his wide nose. The chick didn't understand these words, but he understood 'Polly'. The female human, with sharp cheek bones and a petite size, turned to him.

"When he's got some more feathers on him. The parrot expert Robert said that -" at the word 'Robert', his ears perked up. Robert? That sounded better than Polly, any day. The chick thought hard. _Should I add a letter to the end? _He thought over the few letters he knew. _A? Roberta? No way, sounds girly. E, u, y? O? _Then his eyes brightened. _That's it! Roberto! My name is Roberto._

Feeling incredibly happy, Roberto let out a chirping sound, but it was then that he felt something poke his back. He turned around, and saw something pale and cream-coloured, in the fat human's hand.

"Polly want a cracker?" he asked in a strange voice. Roberto blinked.

"My name's Roberto…" he said but the man didn't notice. He continued poking Roberto, clearly not understanding, saying that same sentence, over and over while attempting to make a parrot noise.

"Rragh!" he chuckled. "Polly want a cracker?"Roberto narrowed his eyes. _Nice attempt at mimicry. Pathetic. _The human poked him several more times with the cracker. Roberto stood very still, getting more angyr by the second. After the eighth time,Roberto, losing his temper, snatched the cracker away.

"Fine!" he snapped. "Fine, just stop saying _that."_ Roberto sniffed it, and then nibbled at the edge of the cracker. For a moment, he tasted nothing. Then a foul taste entered his beak. His beak opened, and he gagged, trying to spit it out, but it had already dropped into his stomach. Roberto spat, covering his beak with his stubby wings. _Ugh! _He stared up at the fat man in bewilderment. "That's horrible!" he cried, but then man simply grinned, yet again not understanding.

"Polly want another cracker?" he chuckled again, pushing another cracker through the bars. Roberto backed away from it, and then dove into the blankets, burying himself underneath them as the man left the room, accompanied by the woman with the sharp cheek bones. He felt sick. The crackers were disgusting - they tasted of nothing, alongside something weird. He shouldn't be eating it. It made his stomach feel funny. It was human food, not bird food.

Roberto then heard a harsh squawk. He peeked out from under the blankets, and saw a large, ragged white bird. He had ragged feathers, which were white but some had a gray tint. He had a yellow stack of feathers on his head. (a brief appearance - you can all guess who he is)

"Hello - _little bird."_ Said the stranger in a horrible, droning voice. Roberto blinked again.

"Little bird? My name's not little bird, it's Ro -"

"Not interested." Yawned the bird. "My name is Nigel, however. The cockatoo."

"What's a cockatoo?"

"None of your business." Said Nigel, inspecting his talons. Roberto flinched. He didn't like this cockatoo at all. But he was curious.

"What are you doing here? Do you belong to the man?"

"Not at all." replied Nigel, looking up from his claws. "This is a flying visit. My owners are on the other side of Manaus, and we're about to go to Brasilia." These words made questions pop up in his head. What was 'flying?' What was 'Manaus' and 'Brasilia?'

"What's -"

"Aren't you a nosy chick?" snorted Nigel, rolling his bloodshot brown eyes in annoyance. "Must go. Got some birds to smuggle." Nigel then turned, and flew out of the window. Roberto stared after him, stunned. He had never been spoken to like that - how rude! He hadn't even said goodbye. _I wouldn't have wanted to know him, anyway. He seems… horrible. I hope I never see him again. _Fortunately for Roberto, he wouldn't see Nigel again.


	2. Enough

Roberto awoke to the sound of a high-pitched sound, horribly close to his ears. Downy feathers spiked, he leapt to his feet, looking around, to see that the fat human had hit the metal bars of his cage with a metal rod, making an unpleasant noise. Making a rasping sound through his beak, Roberto rummaged through the pile of food placed in his food bowl. It looked odd; but it wasn't crackers. It was a variety of black, white, brown, and gray pebble-like things - bird food, as he was to learn. Disappointed, Roberto snapped up a black-and-white sunflower seed, and swallowed it. It wasn't bad, but then anything was better than crackers. Roberto watched, seething, as the fat human began eating something. It was some Star fruit, and the enticing smell of it was making his beak water. He made a low sound in his throat, and the human turned to him. He did his best to look hopeful, staring with enormous blue eyes at the Star fruit. _Take the hint, take the hint… _the human looked from Roberto to the pieces of Star fruit, before he picked up a piece, walking over to the cage. Roberto ran to the cage bars as the human dropped the piece of fruit through the bars, devouring it before he could take it away. The flavour was better than anything Roberto had ever tasted. Sweet and fresh, a little bit sharp, but it was still the best thing Roberto had eaten. As he finished the Star fruit, Roberto listened to the conversation between the sharp-cheeked woman and the fat man.

"Do you reckon that Polly -" _Roberto. _"Is ready for the stall?" asked the sharp-cheeked woman, looking up from her newspaper.

"Yes, Lacey, but he needs the metal ring."

"Alright - are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure; we don't want him flying away."

"He can't even fly yet, though, so I don't see a point." Lacey grumbled, crossing her arms. "It's cruel, really."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lacey. He's a bird, he won't know the difference." the fat man then handed her a towel. "Grab him, and I'll get the ring." Roberto suddenly felt tense. As Lacey approached the cage, he backed way, letting out a low squawk. Suddenly, she threw open the door and grabbed him, wrapping him in the towel to restrain him, but she left his tail and talons exposed. Through the towel, Roberto heard the heavy footsteps of the fat man, and then a hand grabbed his left foot. Something cold was put around his ankle, snapping with a 'click'. Lacey then pushed him back into the cage, and Roberto fell on his back, squawking furiously, but then his beak snapped shut as a sheet was thrown over the cage, wrapping him in darkness. Trembling, Roberto looked down at his left foot. His eyes widened. A shiny ring was now around his leg; a dull, dark gray metal like the bars of his cage. He lifted his ankle, examining the ring from all angles. He didn't like it at all. It was cold, unnatural. For a few minutes, Roberto gnawed on the metal, but he gave up. The metal wasn't even showing a trace of chew marks, no matter how much he chewed it. Then Roberto stumbled. The cage was lifted into the air, and began swinging, crashing him against the bars. Eventually he wrapped himself in the blankets to shield himself from the hard cage bars. Roberto lifted the bottom of the sheet with his claw through the bars, peered out. He was placed onto one of their machines - a jeep, so it was called - and then the fat man and Lacey climbed into the front, driving off.

The wind against the sheet sent it flying away, revealing Roberto's cage. Sunlight, hot and bright, streamed into his eyes, dazzling his vision. Impulses flashed over his eyes from the sudden brightness, and he blinked them away, but it took a minute for them to fade. When he had adjusted to the sudden light, Roberto craned his neck out of the bars, eyes round and his beak hanging open. His feathers ruffled in the breeze, and the short, stubby feathers on his head beginning to grow were pinned back against his scalp. Roberto was covered in patches of fluffy blue down, but now a few adult feathers were growing. A few, but it was a start. The buildings were enormous - immense, bigger than anything he had ever seen. Dozens of humans and cars went past. Young humans kicked a ball to each other, while some others attempted to climb a tree. Roberto watched the young ones playing soccer with interest, before the jeep turned a corner. Out of the whole city of Manaus, what fascinated him most of all was the patch of green. On the other side of the 'Amazon River', a mass of green stood in the sun. He had seen a few trees, but not that many. How many trees were there in that patch of green? Was there even more trees, lying behind the ones Roberto could see?

Roberto closed his eyes half-way as the breeze tickled his face, and he leaned out of the bars, amazed at the feeling. The jeep then pulled to a stop, and the breeze halted, replaced by hot, still, humid air. The jeep doors opened and then closed, and Lacey reached into the back, pulling out his cage. Roberto held onto the bars to stop himself being tossed about as Lacey walked. He, along with some other stuff in boxes, was being carried down a long dock that stood over the river. Enormous boats floated on the Amazon River surface, tied to the docks.

Roberto's cage was hung onto a wooden beam on the wooden stall, hanging by a nail. Roberto watched Lacey and the fat man putting several things onto the stall – weird-looking yet beautiful stones, some battered second-hand books, a few small bottles of that stuffy fragrance Lacey used, and some other stuff. As Lacey and the fat man continued loading the stall, Roberto studied the metal ring on his ankle. It was too thin for him to slip it off his ankle, as his foot was in the way. He tried anyway, but gave up when his toes became sore.

Roberto was then aware of other humans walking up and down the docks; some were being dragged along by small children, a few hobbled along with canes, whilst others walked in couples or alone. Roberto began preening his soft feathers, bored and uncomfortable in the little cage and the scorching heat. He found a few adult feathers sticking out from his stubby wings. There were the beginnings of flight feathers. At the sound of pounding footsteps, Roberto looked up from preening his plumage. A small child dragged his mother along, staring at him. The mother looked embarrassed, but the fat man grinned widely, saying something in Portuguese.

"_Cinco?"_ spluttered the mother, looking disgusted. "_Cinco__?_ Eu não estou pagando muito!" she then dragged her toddler son away, who protested a few times before reluctantly allowing her to move him away. Roberto then heard the familar noise, and he turned, crossing his wings, beak clenched. The fat man was saying the same thing, over and over again.

"Polly want a cracker?" he asked. Roberto rubbed his wing tips on his temples, his head beginning to hurt from the humidity and the sound of the fat man's irriatating voice. The man continued, and then Roberto felt the man poke his back with a cracker. The man poked him again. Roberto resisted. Again. He resisted. But on the fourth poke, Roberto had had enough. He spun round, sqauwking furiously.

"Enough!" he screeched, suddenly sinking his beak into his tormenter's thumb. Letting out a cry of shock, the man dropped the cracker. Tourists turned, curious. Yanking his hand away, the fat man clutched his bleeding hand as Lacey rushed to find a bandage. Roberto rocked in the cage, back turned. "I hate the crackers." He whispered in an eerily quiet voice.


	3. Pressure

Every day that followed, Roberto grew more but he got more and more attention. Unwelcome attention from tourists and their kids. Kids would pester their parents into spending money so that they could pet him, and worst of all, feed him _crackers. The crackers. _Roberto couldn't stand it anymore. The crackers made him feel incredibly sick, and not only that, but the experience overall - the crackers, the cramped cage, the scorching sun, squealing kids and flashing cameras - was seriously affecting Roberto. Mentally affecting him. He had nightmares every night; humidity, shouting humans, flashing cameras and the crackers. His sprouting feathers were dull and damp as he sweated in the heat. It was driving him to the point of insanity.

Now, the fat man was being cruel to him. Ever since Roberto had bitten him, he had cut off his food, and only given him crackers, knowing that Roberto couldn't stand them. The worst thing happened as Roberto slept. A pair of tweezers would carefully close on one of his sprouting feathers, the one that had grown the most, and then they would suddenly tear out the feather, jolting Roberto awake as the man laughed in amusement. It was painful, and a small bead of blood would form in the spot where the feather had been. It was clear that Lacey had no idea, as she frowned at the sight of Roberto's fallen feathers.

"Why is he moulting? He shouldn't be moulting already, not the adult feathers. The downy ones should be."

"No idea." The fat man shuffled uncomfortably, but didn't look guilty at all. "Maybe he plucked them himself." Lacey replied with a 'hmm', frowning into a book on parrot care. Roberto simply sat on the metal cage floor, half-fledged wings shielding his head from the eyes of Lacey and the fat man. He was muttering to himself.

"I hate crackers…" he whispered. "I hate the crackers…"

_The next day_

Roberto's head drooped as he sat on the tourist's shoulder, his growing head feathers falling over his eyes. The fat man coughed. "Er, Polly!" Roberto didn't look up, continuing to glare at the chain on the metal ring. The chain was attactched to the cage bars, so if he tried to flee, he would simply hang upside-down by one foot. "Polly want a cracker?" at the verse, Roberto's head snapped up. In this moment, the camera flashed. Roberto let out a mournful cry, and the tourist stared, looking from Roberto to the fat man.

"Do you… treat him right?" she asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Of course!" gasped the fat man, knuckles growing white. "W-Why wouldn't I?" Lacey hurriedly took Roberto off the tourist's shoulder, placing the squawking macaw back into his cage. The photo printed out, and the fat man went to hand it to the tourist, but she shook her head.

"I've changed my mind."

"That's not how it works." The fat man said testily, still holding out the image to her, other hand open to receive the money. "I've already taken the photo. You have to pay for it." The tourist crossed her arms, resisting.

"You can't make me, can you? What you going to do, call the police?" the tourist challenged. Before the fat man could reply, she reached into her bag, pulling out a plastic pouch. It was a variety of tasty looking berries that Roberto had never seen before. She pushed past Lacey, and dropped them all into Roberto's cage. Roberto grabbed at the berries within a second; wolfing them down before anyone could stop him. It was like nothing he had ever tasted, better than the little morsel of Star fruit he had had the other morning. The bright, colourful skins and flesh of the berries really were as good as they looked. The tourist then turned to the fat man and Lacey, smiling. "_Bom dia_." She then turned, and walked away calmly, leaving the fat man shouting after her, but she ignored him. Berry juice stained the feathers around Roberto's beak, but he didn't care. He had never been offered so much food that was so appealing to him.

With the sweet taste of the berries still lingering in his beak, Roberto began pacing about the cage as Lacey and the fat man continued trying to sell some of their awful-condition secondhand books. He paused in his pacing when he caught his reflection in the little mirror he had on the cage wall. Long, dark blue feathers sprouted from the top of his head, one shorter one sticking up. They cascaded down on the sides of his head, around his eyes. _Woah. Is that normal in my species? _Then he noticed the rest of his face. Pale blue, yet wild-looking eyes, wild with a mixture of fear and exhaustion. His feathers were damp from sweating in the humid cage, and then he noticed the adult feathers. Dark blue, a few shades off cobalt on his wings and lighter on the rest of him. The markings on his face were paler then any other feathers. Most of his wings, chest, back and stomach were still covered in pale blue down, but it wouldn't be long until the down faded completely. It wouldn't be long until he could fly. _But how? I can't! Who would teach me? _Roberto attempted to stretch out his wings, but they touched the bars of the cage. He couldn't learn here, it was too cramped. But they never let him out of the cage unless it was to clean him or give him to some tourist or kid to pet or hold. Was he destined to stay in this cage forever?

_No. _Whispered a voice in his head. _You're born to be wild. All birds are supposed to be wild, whether it macaws, pigeons or budgies. _Roberto then felt as if he was being watched. Out of the corner of his eye, he _thought_ saw two figures with wild crest feathers adorning their heads, just like his. Tiny sparkles were woven into their feathers, and they seemed misty around the edges. Roberto slowly turned, but they were gone. Fear spread over him, and his wings clasped the sides of his face. _I'm going mad - I'm seeing things! Sparkling and misty macaws? Honestly! _All the fear, rage and pressure made him fall to his knes, and he suddenly let out an ear-shattered squawk. Lacey and the fat man gasped in shock, hands flying to their ears. Heads turned as Roberto began screeching at the top of his voice, and mutters over how tiny the cage was, which could be why he was making such a fuss. _You all have no idea! You don't have a clue!_

"_Get... the... sheet!"_ screeched the fat man to Lacey, who fumbled for the sheet. It fell, falling through a hole in the wooden dock. Lacey then saw a wooden box, and, seizing Roberto's cage, threw open the door. Roberto fell into the box, and the lid slammed shut. Roberto's squawks died away to whimpers as he landed painfully on his wing. Dragging himself to his feet, Roberto looked at his wing. It was bruised, but the bones weren't damaged. Roberto felt tears spring to his eyes, and he rocked slowly in a corner. A packet of crackers lay in another corner, alongside a few of his owners's spare things for selling. A tear fell from Roberto's eyes, and then he was wailing out loud, tears flying from his eyes. His pitiful cries were heard by several tourists, and they swapped looks of concern, walking as far away from the stall as possible.


	4. To fly

Roberto clawed at the band that had clamped his beak shut, desperate. The band was half-way over his nostrils, so his breathing was made difficult. The fat man hit his cage with a stick, snapping.

"Stop it, Polly, or I'll give you more crackers." He hissed out of the corner of his mouth as tourists went by. At this, Roberto stopped, but covered his face with his wings in humiliation. This was the fat man's way of shutting him up; putting a band over his beak. He couldn't breathe through his beak, so had to breathe through his half-covered nostrils. It was humiliating. The purple-tinted Plumbeous pigeons would perch on the stall beams laughing and teasing him until Lacey shooed them away. Roberto now couldn't bite any human that touched him, and he couldn't scratch as the fat man had threatened to feed him more crackers. Tourists, who hadn't seen his outburst the other day would excitedly pose for photos, reach through the bars to poke at him, and the fat man allowed them when Lacey's back was turned.

Eyes hollow with hunger, Roberto sat on his perch, wings lying limply at his sides as some kids ogled at him, eyes wide with fascination. An older one, a teenager, was frowning at him, and then she whispered to her mother, who then pulled the younger kids away from the stall, the teenager whispering bitterly about animal cruelty. Roberto was attempting to look as mournful as possible, his feathers flat and his head drooping so that he looked weak. Maybe the tourists would stop approaching him. Maybe someone would alert the police. Maybe a decent human would save him from his cruel owner.

"Polly!" clicking near his ears awoke him from his daydreams, and he looked up with hollow eyes. The familiar pair of tiny glasses on that ridiculously fat face. "C'mon, chop-chop! Customer!" Lacey didn't look up from her chair, her thin nose in a book that hadn't been sold. Roberto slowly got onto the fat man's arm as he linked the chain to the metal ring, turning to the first of the three children, the youngest. Roberto half-heartedly looked up. A toddler reached up, stroking Roberto's fluffy wing feathers gently. He didn't flinch; she was gentle, unlike some other children who had stroked him.

"He's so soft!" she squealed happily, only to be shoved aside by her older brother.

"Let me stroke him, Phoebe!" he complained, reaching up to Roberto. Then there was a small _chink. _Roberto looked down. There was no chain attached to the metal ring. The impatient boy pushing his sister aside had done something; the fat man hadn't linked the chain to the ring properly, and the simple action of Phoebe's arm brushing past the chain had sent it falling. The fat man and Lacey looked down, hearing the chink, and they saw it slip through the wooden planks and splash into the river below. It dawned upon them all, and Lacey and the fat man both looked at Roberto. The mother pulled her children back. Lacey leapt to her feet, and the fat man tried to grab Roberto. He shouldn't have been flying for another week at least, but this could be his only opportunity. He had the flight feathers on his wings, the down in patches. He had the capability to fly; badly, but still.

The words he had thought of the other day formed in his head._ All birds are meant to be wild._ A few tiny doubts flickered briefly through his mind. _I know nothing about the wild. I could die. _Then the words exploded in his head. _NO! No more tiny cages, no more imprisonment… no more crackers!_

Roberto's beak flew open as he somehow tore the band away, and he screeched, leaping off the fat man's arm. For a moment, he plummeted toward the wooden docks below the feet of the humans. _Flap! Flap! _Screamed the voice in his head. _Flap your wings, Roberto! _The desperation to flee became energy for the half-starved macaw, and then his wings began beating frantically. He legs swung as his wings pulled him briefly into a hover, and then he powered into the air. Just before he went, Roberto spun round, blue eyes wild. He launched himself at the fat man, seizing his glasses and throwing them into the river. Then, with all his might, he slashed his talons over his owner's face. Blood spurted from the wrinkled cheeks, and he shouted, hands flying up to his cheeks, some blood running through his fingers. As Lacey gasped and raised a plank of wood to hit Roberto, he lifted his wings, and rocketed upwards, a blur. Below, Lacey accidently hit the fat man with the plank of wood. The mother and her children made a quick and hasty exit. He kept flying straight up, until the stall below was barely visible. Roberto only began flying as fast as possible toward the rainforest when he was above the clouds. He could barely breathe; it was cold, and the air was thin.

He flew for countless hours despite his wings. His flight was crooked and unsteady, but he flew on. He didn't care about the drying human blood on his claws. He didn't care about the pain in his wings. All he cared about was getting as far away as possible from that little piece of hell on earth. Just as the sun dipped behind the trees, Roberto began to drop. His eyelids drooped, his head rocked, and his wings became slow. He began dropping down, further, until he was gradually half-falling, half-flying toward the canopy of the trees. He was on the brink of unconsciousness. Roberto barely managed to touch his talons to a tree branch before he passed out, crashing into the tree trunk. His wings drooped over the edges of the branch, and half his face was pressed into the bark of the tree. Several animals peered at him, but then they went back to sleep in their hollows as the Spix's macaw began muttering about crackers and cramped cages in his unconsciousness.


	5. You're not alone

Roberto slowly opened his eyes, and sat up, wings wrapped tightly around his head. He had a pounding headache; it throbbed, making his eyes hurt. He then looked around. _What's… where… _then he sprang to his feet, staring around. _Where am I? Wait… oh yeah._ He then remembered that he had finally escaped. Escaped from the fat man, the tiny cage, the flashing cameras, insufferable tourists and crackers. _But… what do I do now? _It dawned upon Roberto that he had no clue what was in this rainforest. Other then trees and a river. And something round and purple hanging above him. _Fruit! _Roberto hopped toward it, and then snapped it from its branch. At least he hoped it was fruit; it looked like the fruit that was in a nearby stall in Manaus - he thought it was called passion fruit. He sank his beak into it, and then it split apart, revealing some flesh-covered yellow-orange seeds. The contents looked rather like a gooey mess, but it smelt absolutely _irresistible._ Roberto cautiously ate a little of the fruit flesh, and then his eyes widened. It was more exotic than those berries the tourist had given him, which were dark bluish-purple or red with tiny yellow seeds. Roberto spent the majority of the morning hunting the tree for passion fruit, and after five whole passion fruits, he had never felt better in his entire life despite the mild stomach ache he now had. Roberto then looked to the right, and saw something incredible.

Roberto had never seen anything more amazing in his life. _"Incrível." _he whispered to himself. The river flowed past, slow yet stained a gorgeous blue as it mirrored the sky. Instantly, he tried to fly toward it, but then pain shot through his wings. He hissed through a gritted beak, and huddled his wings painfully to himself. He must have pulled a muscle or two from flying so much yesterday. _How will I get through the forest? I can't walk through it, who knows what's on the floor? _Gulping, Roberto began (with a lot of difficulty) moving through the forest from tree-to-tree.

He would leap from branch-to-branch, but on the fourth tree (that was as far as he had gotten, in an hour) he caught a weaker branch. It was young and slim, and he dipped violently toward the forest floor. Roberto hung upside-down, terrified to move in case the branch snapped. From some nearby trees, some enormous, dark blue birds were in fits of laughter as he hung in mid-air by his talons. They had yellow rings around their eyes and some yellow markings on their beaks. They were almost twice his size, and weren't even considering helping him. They looked like macaws, but he couldn't tell their species.

"You remember the other day during the match?" chuckled one of them, turning to a female. "Did you see the look on Du's face when I 'accidently' knocked out Asa?" he then snorted. "Ha, Du - the Scarlets call him 'Old Eddie', don't they?"

"Yup." The female bobbed her head up and down. "Mimi and Tia weren't impressed either - Tia was holding Mimi back! She would have attacked you, if Tia wasn't stopping her…" Roberto continued to hang by his talons, dumbfounded. _Who are these they're talking about? 'Old Eddie', Mimi, Tia, Asa? _Suddenly, there was a snap. Roberto plummeted toward the forest floor, as the Hyacinth macaws winced.

"How unfortunate." one of them said, a little awkwardly.

"You think he's alright?" asked another, but an older macaw shrugged.

"Yeah, he'll be just fine." The Hyacinth macaws then returned to eating Brazil nuts as Roberto lay on the forest floor, invisible in the dense foliage. Groaning at the pain in his wings, Roberto stumbled to his feet. He looked down at his feathers, appalled. He was standing ankle-deep in a mud puddle, and it was splashed all over his wings and feathers. He spat out a beakful of mud, disgusted by the taste. As fast as he could, Roberto began trekking through the forest. He walked for several hours, trying to fly a few times, but his wings were still in too much pain. The memories started to repeat in his mind. _Polly want a cracker? Polly want a cracker? _Murmured the voice in his head, and Roberto then felt sick. The passion fruit in his stomach felt heavy, and the head and stomach ache returned. Soon, he began muttering.

"No… Enough crackers… I hate the crackers…" he whispered. "Polly want a cracker, Polly want cracker… Polly _doesn't_ want a cracker… leave me alone…" a few brown birds flew overhead, but they didn't see him in the ferns. Roberto continued murmuring the words, and then he staggered out of the ferns. "Enough…" above him, one of the brown birds suddenly tipped his head.

"Did anyone hear that?" he asked, turning to his companions.

"Hear what?" replied a female, who was his mate and the youngest of the three.

"I could have sworn I heard something…" said the third, who was the older sister of the male. "It came from down there." She pointed downwards.

"Let's check it out." Said the male, banking and dropping in altitude. His mate and older sister followed, eyes scanning the ferns. The trio's wings stirred the ferns, where Roberto crouched, heart thumping, not knowing who they were. Tia then looked around, the feathers on her neck rising.

"Hear that?" she asked, and the male looked around.

"I sure do." He hissed. "Quick, up in that tree!" the trio darted up to a nearby tree, peering out from behind a branch. Roberto heard loud footsteps. They crushed plants underfoot, very close. He knew what sort of creature they were. The male then spotted Roberto. "Look!" he rasped, pointing. He spun round. "Get out of here; I'll be right on your tails." The brown bird then threw himself down, rocketing toward the ferns. Roberto cried out at the feeling of talons grabbing his own, and then he was being dragged through the air, unable to see his attacker.

"Let me go!" he screeched. "I've only been here a day, let me go!" his attacker didn't reply, but continued to fly at full pelt after the two females. Several times, Roberto attempted to pull himself free, but the bird had his talons in iron grip, and he couldn't escape. As soon as Roberto heard rushing water, he was dropped. He rolled over the ground, feathers dusty and covered in scraps of plant. The three birds flew straight toward the sound of the water, flying through the curtain of water spray. When they emerged, however, the brown was gone. Replaced by blue. The male flew straight up to the panicking Roberto, who couldn't see; his crest feathers were covering his eyes, and he was entangled in some sort of Amazonian plant.

"Stop!" he commanded, but Roberto continued to struggle, desperate to flee.

"Want me to slap him?" muttered the male's older sister, but then his mate ran forward, rolling her turquoise eyes in frustration.

"For goodness sake…" she reached over, swiftly brushing the feathers out of Roberto's eyes. "Hey, calm down! You're safe, look at us!" As he caught sight of the three, he stopped struggling. The female looked down with gentle eyes. "See? We're Spix's macaws; like you." As they freed Roberto from the entanglement of vines, he stood, bewildered, taking a step back from them. His crest feathers were heavily tousled, sticking up and at all angles.

"Who… who are you?" he stammered. The three exchanged glances. The eldest female, who didn't look much older than the male, was first to introduce herself. She had short head feathers that were shorter yet curlier then that of the other female. Her eyes were pale blue, her eyelids having a lavender tint. She was also short and rather plump, shorter then Roberto, despite their rather large difference of age. She was probably around fifteen or sixteen years old, the other two looking close to the same.

"I am Mimi - the tribe's advisor, and this is my younger brother, Eduardo, who is the leader of the tribe." She gestured toward the male. Eduardo was a little compact and rather tall, much taller than Mimi. He had pale green eyes, and flattened feathers on his head that reminded Roberto of leadership, or even combat. Eduardo then slung a wing around the female who had freed Roberto from the vines.

"This is my mate, Tia." He said. Tia was taller than Mimi, slim and slender, with turquoise eyes and a gentle cluster of slightly curled feathers on her head. She had markings on her face that were almost white, from around her eyes to beneath her beak. Her feathers were a few shades darker then Eduardo's and Mimi's. Eduardo then looked at Roberto. "Who are you, son?" Roberto blinked, and then realized that they weren't planning to hurt him.

"I… I'm Roberto." He said. "Uh…" a hundred questions flowed through his head. "Wait… did you say _tribe?" _as the word escaped his beak, he then noticed the surrounding trees. Countless Spix's macaws, either perching, eating some fruit, chatting away, or flying through the trees. Roberto had never seen any of his species before, other than himself. "I thought I was alone." He stared around, open-beaked with awe. Tia smiled.

"You're not alone, Roberto. Far from alone."


	6. Welcome to the tribe

Roberto continued to stare around the surrounding trees in awe. Several young females began whispering quickly to one another, eyes on Roberto, and some young males exchanged looks of interest. Every macaw had a friendly and warm look, even if they weren't smiling. Vines and exotic flowers hung from branches, the flowers bursts of colour in the greenery. Pink, yellow, lilac and many other colours shone in the petals. The little waterfall Eduardo, Tia and Mimi had flown through was visible through the trees, the spray creating a misty look. The soil beneath his talons was moist and, in places, green with moss and lichens. "How many... how many macaws are there?"

"One to three hundred or so." Eduardo said, looking around with pride in his pale green eyes. He opened his wings as he spoke. "We are a thriving civilisation, Roberto. You don't have any Spix's family or friends outside of the tribe, do you?" Roberto looked at the soil at Eduardo's question, trying to think of what to say.

"I don't know. I don't remember having any siblings, or parents." Roberto wasn't going to tell the three macaws that he was born and raised in a cage, with a fat human and his lover. Something told him that they would not be impressed by the fact that he had been a pet all his life until yesterday. "Er... would any of you care to explain why you grabbed me like that? I mean, I'm not being rude but it's a bit extreme." Mimi and Tia giggled, before Mimi spoke up.

"You were right in the path of humans, darling." All three shivered, exchanging dark looks. Roberto trembled at the word, his crest feathers spiking wildly, and his wings hunched to his body.

"Crackers..." he whispered beneath his breath, barely audible.

"Sorry, what was that?" Tia asked, looking up, but Roberto shook his head.

"Nothing." Roberto then felt something tug his leg, and he jumped when he looked down. Mimi was inspecting the metal ring on his ankle, eyes narrowed.

"What's this?" she asked, hooking a talon around it and tugging it slightly. Eduardo and Tia tipped their heads as they looked at it, both wearing a look of weariness and curiosity. Roberto stiffened, and tugged his leg away from her, dropping his wings so that they shielded his talons from view. _Uh-oh. _What on earth could he say?

"It was part of a trap." He blurted out, the first idea that had popped into his head. Immediate doubt crossed all three macaws's faces, and they exchanged looks. Roberto gulped, and smoothed his spiked crest feathers.

"A _trap?" _asked Tia incredulously. Roberto nodded eagerly, trying his best to sound and look confident.

"Yes, it was a trap." He straightened, and re-revealed the ring on his ankle. _If i don't try to hide it, they won't be suspicious. I hope so, anyway._ "I was walking along a branch, and then I tripped over something. I ending up hanging upside-down; the ring was attached to a thin rope, but I managed to cut the rope and free myself. But the ring... it hadn't come off. It's too small to fit down my foot, it's designed to... never come off, I think." Roberto's crest feathers cloaked his face as he looked down at the ring, and a tear welled in the corner of his eyes. It wasn't a method of persuasion, to make himself look more convincing, but it was true; the memory of his experience would last his entire life whenever he looked at his talons.

"There there, sweetheart." Mimi reached up, and brushed the tears from his eyes with her wing-tips. "It's fine. You were caught in a silly human trap; it could have been worse, couldn't it? I've seen worser traps then this." She then spoke in a bright voice, trying to cheer him up. "I bet if you actually painted a bit of that red plant stuff we have or sommat on that ring, it might actually look rather nice." Roberto looked up, and felt a little comforted by her words.

"What 'red stuff'?"

"Oh, it's some decorative thing we use for this special dance we have." Eduardo said. "The dance is called 'Beautiful Creatures.'; males paint parts of their faces red with the plant paint, the females paint their wing-tips and parts of their faces yellow with pollen." At this, Tia reached over to a yellow flower, dabbing it on her left cheek, turning it yellow as Eduardo showed Roberto the red plant paint. After a few moments of silence, Roberto reached up with his wings, brushing his crest feathers out of his eyes and holding his head up. Tia then opened her wings, smiling.

"How about a tour?"

A minute later, Roberto flew after Eduardo, Tia and Mimi. His wings, although still weak, had found the energy to flap as he became desperate to see the 'ravine', as the trio called it. "This, Roberto, is our home." Said Eduardo, flying through a crevice in a rock. They emerged on the other side, and that was where Roberto saw the most incredible thing. An enormous waterfall cascaded down, into a plunge pool. Giant Amazon Water Lilies scattered over the surface, and the cliffs formed a ravine. Clay licks were on some parts of the cliffs, dotted with blue as dozens of Spix's macaws fed on the clay. Trees stood on the banks of the plunge pool, wild with vines, leaves and exotic flowers. They flew over the plunge pool, in front of the waterfall.

"The ravine is formed by the waterfall." Said Mimi, looking around at the cliffs. "Over a long time, the waterfall has receded back. The falling water cuts away at the softer rock, and the more resistant rock stays. As the softer rock continues to wear away, the resistant rock forms an overhang. It is eventually destroyed by the pressure of the running water. The process continues, but it is an extremely slow process, often taking decades. We're in no real danger of being squashed by rocks as the overhang collapses." Roberto listened with fascination. It seemed hard to believe that the waterfall had created this ravine. Eyes turned in curiosity at the fourth macaw accompanying Eduardo, Tia and Mimi. Roberto looked down at himself, and his eyes widened. He hadn't seen himself since that glance in the mirror, and now - relaxed, _happy - _he looked entirely different. His feathers shone in the sunlight, his eyes were bright and warm. He had only seen his face in the little mirror, but now he could see his entire body; he had a large wingspan for a macaw of his age, and a long, flowing tail. For the first time, Roberto saw his own smile as he grinned, looking down at his reflection. Tia then looked back at him.

"There is a cave behind the waterfall." She said. "It's where we all go in the event of, say, natural disasters, like fire. We also go there when there are humans close by, as it is too dangerous for them to reach." They flew by the waterfall, and Roberto caught a glimpse of a hole in the rock. His 'tour guides' then swerved, flying closer to the tree line. Heads popped out of hollows in the tree trunks. Eduardo, Tia and Mimi pointed out two trees; one was Eduardo and Tia's, and one was Mimi's. The four landed on a branch. Eduardo then turned to him.

"Are you joining the tribe?" he asked. Tia and Mimi had hopeful expressions, their smiles warm and friendly. For Roberto, the decision was easy. Roberto grinned.

"How can I say no?"At the words, Mimi threw a wing around him enthusiastically.

"Welcome to the tribe, Roberto. Welcome to the tribe."


	7. Talent

The tree was enormous; adorned with green vines and leaves. The tree had six parts - the main hollow and some smaller pockets and hollows that made some other living space. The trunk was made of ancient, dark wood with many branches sprouting out, leaves and flowers blooming. It seemed perfect - yet it was not claimed by anyone. It was free for the taking. Roberto swooped into the hollow, landing on the floor and looking around. It looked a bit bare inside in contrast to the outside, but he could spruce it up. He was very into decoration and pretty things; he had taken Mimi's advice and had painted red streaks over the metal ring on his ankle. It was now less painful to look at. He looked back at the bare walls. Maybe he could plant a few exotic flowers in the pockets of the wall, where there was soil. The wood in the pockets had decomposed over the years into soil, so it was good. Sunlight streamed in through the day, and there was a little pool of water in the main hollow that he could water them with. He could picture it now. Roberto looked around, and saw a mound of roots in the main hollow. He hopped over to it, and found that the roots formed a 'bowl'; they twisted into a circle, overlapping each other. The middle of the root mound was mostly the bare ground of the tree hollow. Roberto flew outside, and collected together some feathers, a few small twigs, and moss. He flew back in, and dropped the nesting into the root 'bowl'. He began arranging the moss and feathers until he had made a comfortable nest. Happy with what he had created, Roberto flew back outside. He would plant the flowers tomorrow; he had to introduce himself to the tribe first. He stopped, and picked up the plant paint. He dipped a talon into it, and then drew a large, noticeable red 'X' on the tree bark to show that the tree was claimed. Roberto then flew confidently over the plunge pool, flying close to the surface. His wing-tips brushed the surface as they flapped. His downy baby feathers were almost gone.

"Hey!" a voice called. Roberto kept flying, not knowing that they meant him, but then he heard more voices in his direction. "Hey! Crest feathers! Over here!" at this, Roberto realized that they must mean him. No one in the tribe had crest feathers quite like his. He hovered, and turned around, scanning the treeline for the owners of the voices. Eventually, his eyes rested on a group of young macaws, who were hopping up and down and waving their wings to get his attention. Most seemed close to his age, and they were defiantly waving at him to come over to them. Roberto immediately flew over to them, landing on the branch in front of them.

"Hi." He said, hoping that he wouldn't be awkward. He had never really spoken to anyone in the tribe other than Eduardo, Tia and Mimi, where he had known what to say. He tossed his head to get the crest feathers out of his eyes, looking at the group in front of him. Several were male, and others were female. Two females and one male were half-covered in down. The other females and males were older, some half-fledged and some on the verge of completely fledging. A male stepped forward, extending his wing and grinning widely.

"Hey, I'm Carlos." He said in a friendly voice. He had a short stack of feathers on the top of his forehead, a few of the longer ones lying down over the rest of his head, the ends curled slightly. He was similar in colouration to Eduardo and Mimi, lighter than Roberto. He shook Roberto's wing enthusiastically. "Welcome to tribe. What's your name?"

"Roberto." He said, smiling. Carlos smiled again.

"Sweet, great name. This is Tobias -" he pointed to a bright blue male. "These are Elisa and Isabella." He pointed at the younger ones, before naming the other three, who were almost fully fledged; two other females, mischievous twins Catia and Trix, and a male called Jasper, the grandson of an old, battered macaw named Glauco who continued to insist on being a reserve for their 'Pit of Doom' team. The game resembled soccer, like Roberto had seen in Manaus, although he didn't mention it when Eduardo had described it to him. "We're going to be going to the Brazil nut grove, wanna join us?"

"The what?" Roberto asked, confused, and Trix stepped forward, looking giggly as she looked at Roberto. He then noticed that some of the females looked the same as they gazed at him. _What's up with these girls? _

"It's a bunch of trees with Brazil nuts." She said. "It's really great - do you know how to open Brazil nuts?"

"Not a clue." Roberto replied. He didn't even know what a Brazil nut was, but he assumed that it was some sort of nut, hence the name. Tobias nodded.

"That's fine, we'll show you once we get there. C'mon then!" Tobias flew off, followed by Roberto and the other macaws. Excitement bubbled up inside Roberto. He had been nervous about friend-making, but it was easier then he thought. As they flew, the other macaws started chattering about singing.

"Hey, how about we sing something?" suggested Elisa, who flew ahead of Roberto. "That competition Mimi organised is in a few days, we should see how well we can all sing!"

"Count me out!" Jasper said at once. "I'm no good at singing."

"Oh come on, you're not bad… you're not like that female Keel-Billed toucan that used to live here before moving down to Rio de Janeiro." Isabella pointed out, and the others began laughing. "Ugh… what song?" after some bickering, they settled on 'Beautiful Creatures', since Roberto had never heard it. They told Roberto the lyrics, and then all the macaws, other than Roberto, began singing.

_Let's come together,_

_Sing in love and harmonia_

_Beautiful colours,_

_The sky's the eye that can see you…_

_Open your wings, fly away when you hear the call…_

_Let's celebrate -_

Roberto was singing the words in his head, not sure whether to sing or not. He had never sung in his life; what if he sounded like that Keel-Billed toucan they had been talking about? But as they finished the next four lines, they turned to him, throwing their wings toward him to show that this was his chance to sing. Brief panic flowed through Roberto, but then he gulped. _I'll look even stupider if I don't. _Roberto closed his eyes, and remembered the next lyrics.

_Calling the beautiful creatures,_

_Let's spread your wings,_

_Sing songs about freedom…_

Roberto then forgot the next lines, and he looked at the others. He blinked in surprise. They were all staring at him in a mixture of shock and awe.

"What?" he asked. "Sorry, I forgot the next lines…"

"Holy mangos!" gasped Carlos, staring at him like he'd sprouted another pair of wings. Roberto flinched, waiting for him to start laughing, but then he went on. "Your voice, Roberto… it's -"

"Amazing!" cried Catia, her beak hanging open. Catia, Trix, Elisa and Isabella were gazing at him, unable to take their eyes away. Tobias, Carlos and Jasper wore looks of admiration. They all swarmed around him, and began attempting to persuade him to take part in the singing competition coming up.

"I can't…" Roberto began, but they carried on pressing him.

"You've got to!" Jasper insisted. "With a voice like that… you'll be the talk of the tribe! We'll find a song for you, just you wait - a great one that really makes the tribe feel _alive_, ya know? You'll be a star!"


	8. Felipe

The Brazil nut trees were huge; vines hung from their many branches, and the Brazil nuts dangled either alone or in close clusters. They were careful not fly below any Brazil nuts; as strange as it seemed, Brazil nuts could actually kill you if it fell on your head. A few years ago, one had killed an indigenous Amazon, and no humans had been in the area since. The air was humid was the sun was hot, but this didn't sink any of their moods. All the macaws were begging Roberto to sing another song, the girls especially. He would never have thought that a beautiful voice would gather so much attention; it must have been exceptional. He was also thinking of participating in that upcoming competition - like Jasper said, the tribe would be astounded. Apparently his companions knew many songs, and would find a good song for him. Roberto chuckled as they continued to persuade him.

"Fine, I'll sing you something from the top of my head." He said, much less hesitant to sing now. The girls squealed with excitement, eyes dancing. Roberto grinned, tossing his head feathers.

_Sunlight is golden, moonshine is silver,_

_Each ray has its own mind_

_They dance through the trees,_

_Dapple on all the leaves,_

_They shine, just like you do_

His companions whooped, clapping with their talons. "We're here!" Trix said afterwards. Carlos flew upwards, the little flock close behind; then they landed in a large tree that was absolutely adorned with Brazil nuts. Roberto perched beside Carlos, who plucked a Brazil nut from a branch before turning to him.

"Okay, buddy - if you don't get it the first time, that's cool. Apparently it took Mimi five attempts to open her first one." Carlos rolled the nut toward Roberto, who picked it up in one talon. He looked at Isabella, who was first to start opening one of the nuts. After watching how she opened one, Roberto focused on his own. He bit the shell. Nothing. Roberto began gnawing at the Brazil nut's shell, and then there was a small crack. The shell broke apart, revealing the edible part. Roberto nibbled on the Brazil nut; it tasted nice, although he preferred strawberry guava. He had had several earlier on - Tia had called it a 'home-welcoming present', and it was the best thing he had ever tasted beside passion fruit. The others began chattering loudly, laughing, joking and breaking open more Brazil nuts. On his third Brazil nut, however, Roberto heard a sound. He turned, gnawing on a half-eaten Brazil nut. A red feather drifted down onto the branch. Roberto looked at his friends, who hadn't noticed it. Finishing his Brazil nut, Roberto's curiosity got the better of him as he walked forward. He pushed the leaves apart, stepping through it as the leaves closed behind him, concealing him from view of the others. Roberto looked around, but saw nothing. He then saw a red flash, but when he turned his head, it was gone. It had been in another tree. Roberto flew after it, reminding himself not to stray too far from the group. Something the ticked his back, and when he turned, another red feather fell. He picked it up, inspecting it, but when he turned, he found its owner.

The bird was young, male, a bit older then Roberto. He looked like a macaw, but he defiantly wasn't a Spix's. A ruffle of feathers fell half-way down the back of his head, and his dark green eyes were framed by white skin that stretched to beneath his beak. The beak itself was gray, although it lightened to almost white on the upper part. His plumage was crimson, with yellow and blue on his wings. He had a rather mean look about him, in Roberto's opinion, with a face that wore a scowl. He was tall, a bit taller than Roberto due to his slightly older age. While Roberto still had a bit of baby down fringing his wings and tail, this macaw was fully fledged yet not fully grown. He only needed a growth spurt and he'd look like an adult macaw.

"Er, _hello?" _Roberto's pale blue eyes blinked at the scowling macaw. The bird's eyes were full of distaste and his beak was wrinkled, as if he was looking at or smelling something rather unpleasant. "Who are you?" Roberto asked, fluffing out his blue feathers.

"Felipe." Replied the young macaw. "I'm a Scarlet macaw - and this -" he tapped the branch between them importantly, "Is the boundary of the Scarlet macaw territory." Roberto blinked again, dumbfounded. Felipe made a low, rasping sound in his throat, as if he was frustrated. "Hint, hint."

"I don't understand." Said Roberto simply, and the area above Felipe's eyes rose.

"Didn't Old Eddie tell you about the boundaries we have?"

"_Old Eddie?" _Roberto didn't like this Felipe at all. "Do you mean _Eduardo?"_

"Duh-uh." Felipe rolled his eyes, and his feathers fluffed up a bit. "Obviously I mean that old nut job you call your leader." He reached over, prodding Roberto on the beak and pushing his head back. "I'd appreciate you kindly taking a step back, since you're right on the boundary." A spark of anger fizzled in Roberto's brain; he didn't like how Felipe was speaking about Eduardo at all.

"Alternatively…" Roberto began, claws digging into the wood beneath them. "Maybe _you _should take a step back. If I'm close to your side…" he paused dramatically. "Then you must be close to mine." Felipe's green eyes flickered with both surprise and anger, and the white skin tinted pink.

"It's a simple request that you, dumb as you are, should understand. I'm asking you to _back off."_

"And I'm asking_ you_ to back off." Roberto retorted. They were both beak-to-beak in their anger, glaring at one another. Roberto reached over, and shoved Felipe harshly with his wing. That did it. The Scarlet threw himself across the border, bowling over the Spix's, sending them crashing off the branch. A whirlwind of red, yellow and blue feathers, they crashed into the ferns below. Felipe fastened his talons around his neck, his grasp tight so that Roberto's air was cut off. He struggled to breathe, trying to tear Felipe's talons away, but his lungs screamed for air. _Fight! Fight! _Cried the voice in his head as beads of blood began forming from the pressure of Felipe's claws. Rage exploded in Roberto's head, and he lashed out fiercely with his talons, felt them dig into something soft. Blood trickled over Roberto's talons, and Felipe shrieked as his claws tore at his stomach. Felipe let go, stumbling away, staring in shock at the wound. Not feeling any compassion or mercy, Roberto lunged forward, reaching toward the feathers on Felipe's wing-pit. As he tore out a large amount of the feathers, Felipe fastened his beak in one of Roberto's smaller crest feathers, pulling with all his might. As the crest feather tore free, talons fastened around both their wings, pulling them apart. They struggled toward one another as they wings were restrained; Roberto looked wildly to his left and right, seeing Jasper and Trix struggling to hold him back. He stopped thrashing, although he was still breathing raggedly. Felipe, meanwhile, was shrieking, resisting the two Scarlet macaws who were attempting to stop him throwing himself at Roberto. A third new Scarlet macaw darted from the trees, landing in front of Felipe.

"Stop it!" she cried, holding his face so that he was forced to look at her. "Felipe, don't, you know how Rojo'll react."

"I don't care, Adelaide!" Felipe shouted furiously, continuing to resist the macaws holding him back. Adelaide then slapped him, silencing him. She continued to stare into his wild green eyes, and he stared back into her soft brown ones. For a minute, they were silent, before he spoke again. "Okay." He rasped, before staring daggers at Roberto. "This isn't over, _idiota!" _

"_Vamos."_ Adelaide bumped him with her shoulder, before nodding at the other two. "Let's go, Flavio, Alba." She then spun round, a fierce look in her eyes that surprised them all. "Don't come near the border." She then spun round, tail feathers sweeping dust into the air toward them, before she flew away with Flavio and Alba, Felipe in tow at the back. He looked under his bare wing-pit, eyes slits. As they vanished, Carlos gulped.

"_Vamos." _He squeaked, before they flew back into the Brazil nut trees, supporting the injured Roberto, who snuck a glance back at Felipe. He scowled, before flying after them, toward the ravine.


	9. Lifting clouds

"You did _what?!" _Eduardo stared in a mixture of shock and fury at Roberto, who cowered under the glare of the pale green eyes. It was as if the eyes were made of ice, and he felt as if he had been plunged into ice-cold water. His new friends flinched outside, waiting anxiously as they listened in. Tia was prodding Roberto's wounds gently, before sorting through her medicine store. Tia was the tribe's main 'nurse', and she knew all about Amazonian plants that cured illness and wounds. Tia's eyes kept flickering to her nest. Mimi was looking on with concerned eyes. She crossed her wings at the look on her younger brother's face.

"Don't go too hard on him, Eduardo." She said, but Eduardo ignored his older sister in his rage.

"Honestly, you've been here a day and already you've been fighting." He scowled, towering above the young macaw with menacing eyes.

"It wasn't my fault – ouch!" Roberto flinched as one of Tia's medical herbs stung at a scratch on his wing, before protesting again. "It was his – Felipe's -"

"_Felipe?" _Mimi's eyes flickered, and she leaned forward. "Isn't he Rojo's son? Rojo is the leader of the Scarlet macaw tribe, isn't he?"

"Anyway -" Roberto said, continuing with his story. "He led me directly to their border on purpose. He picked the fight, honestly. I didn't even attack him; he started arguing with me, I pushed him a bit, but then he threw himself at me. He almost strangled me." Roberto pushed the feathers on his neck back, showing a few of the bruises that Felipe's grasp had left on his skin. Eduardo briefly looked concerned, then angry again. Tia went back into her medicine store, finding a few weird-looking leaves. Roberto took a step back, hoping that she wasn't going to make him eat them.

"That little…" Eduardo hissed. "I'll _kill _him." Tia chewed some of the leaves, before putting the leave pulp over Roberto's scratches. She reached up to his head, looking at the spot where one of his crest feathers used to be.

"That'll grow back in a few days." She said, ruffling some of the crest feathers around so that they concealed the fact that one was missing. "If you just ruffle the other feathers you can hide it."

"Thanks, Tia." Roberto said in a grateful voice. "Look, Eduardo, I'm really sorry for this, it won't happen again." _At least I hope it won't. _"Can I go?" he pleaded, and Tia nodded before turning to the seething Eduardo and concerned Mimi.

"Come here, I've got something that'll lighten your moods."

"Not another one of your jokes, Tia…" Mimi smiled half-heartedly with the corner of her beak. "No offence, but…"

"No, it's not one of them…" Tia turned, going over to her nest, which was stuffed with more moss and feathers than usual. Not wanting to eavesdrop, Roberto flew out of the hollow with some difficulty, landing outside. His friends swarmed around him immediately, looking worried.

"How did it go?" asked Elisa, brown eyes round with worry.

"I'll live." Roberto replied in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Just a few scratches and bruises, really. Nothing to worry about."

"Thank goodness." Sighed Tobias, his bright blue feathers going flat from relief. "That wouldn't go down well - Eduardo would have had Felipe's head." A few of the macaws muttered. _Shame he didn't. _Thought Roberto to himself. _I don't think that's the last I'm seeing of Felipe. _They all stretched their wings out to fly away, but then Eduardo and Mimi flew out, surprising them.

"Everyone!" shouted Eduardo, his furious expression replaced by a look of utter joy. The friends exchanged surprised glances; what could have changed his mood so quickly? "Everybody, out of their nests, we have grand news!" Roberto shrugged at the others, and the group flew after the leader and advisor.

"Wonder where Tia is?" thought Trix and Catia, out loud at the same time. The group landed on a large tree branch as other macaws stuck their heads out of their nests and flew into the ravine from the little grove of trees outside it. Two little female macaws, Sophia and Manuela, flew up to join them.

"You okay?" squeaked Sophia, staring at Roberto. Sophia was incredibly pretty, for a little macaw her age; she was able to fly yet was still covered in down and was just over half of Roberto's height. Apparently, she was very interested in the job of scorekeeping for their Pit of Doom team. Manuela looked concerned too, although she had her eyes on Carlos half the time, who winked at her.

"I'm fine." Roberto assured Sophia, before hearing Eduardo calling for silence. They all turned to Eduardo and Mimi, who had landed on a little rock column, where announcements were often made. The column stood at the edge of the plunge pool. Mimi was bouncing on the spot, hardly able to keep still in her excitement. Eduardo wore the warmest smile Roberto had ever seen on him.

"We have an announcement to make." Eduardo said once all of the tribe had gathered. "Me and Tia -" he looked back at the hollow. "Have been blessed with an egg." As soon as he finished the sentence, wild cheering filled the ravine. Wings were thrown into the air, and shouts of congratulations came from almost every macaw. Jasper and Elisa shared a hug, and Isabella high-winged Tobias. Manuela and Carlos whooped and the twins Trix and Catia had their wings around each other, hopping on the spot.

"Congrats!" shouted Roberto, wings thrown up. He ruffled Sophia's head feathers cheerfully, and she gazed at him, slightly dreamy-looking. Roberto looked back at Eduardo and Mimi, and then back toward Eduardo and Tia's tree, where the mother-to-be was most likely egg-sitting. _Good for them; so that's what she was hiding in that nest of hers! No wonder there was so much nest material in it. _


	10. The ways of the wild

Roberto dug at the flower roots, looking for any seeds. He came across the roots, white and speckled with black soil, but didn't find any seeds. _I could always pull them up by the roots, and then plant it… _Roberto dug his claws into the soil around the roots of the younger flowers, which would be easier to carry. He gently lifted the flower out of the earth, the soil clinging to the roots in a large mound. Careful not to let the soil break the flower's roots, Roberto carried it back to his nest, flying up to one of the wood pockets. Placing it gently at the edge, Roberto began scooping out mounds of soil until he had a decent-sized pit. Nestling the flower into the pit, he began pushing the earth into the gaps to stop it from falling or sagging. Hopefully, the young flower would grow and spread, making another flower in the soil next to it. Eventually, the soil-filled pockets in the inside trunk of his hollow were filled with little green plants. When they flowered, it would look beautiful. Vines and climbing plants also draped the walls, the climbing plants also in a few of the soil pockets. It had been a few days since the announcement, and the egg was due to hatch very soon. Tia had been hiding it for a while, wanting to surprise her mate and sister-in-law. Roberto and Carlos were betting over the gender of the chick; Carlos was betting it was a girl, Roberto was betting that it was a boy. The prize would be a camu-camu, a delicious fruit hard to come by in the Amazon. Apparently, the Scarlet macaw tribe had an entire grove of it, but it was too close to their main village for the Spix's macaws to gain access.

"Hey, Roberto!" a voice called. Roberto turned, and saw Eduardo's silhouette in the bright sunlight as it streamed into his hollow. Roberto wasn't sure, but Eduardo might have forgiven him for his and Felipe's 'misunderstanding'. Tia's news had lifted all the dark clouds away from Eduardo, and he was happier then Roberto had ever seen him. Roberto patted the soil, before swooping down, landing in front of Eduardo.

"Yes, sir?" he asked, relieved to see that Eduardo no longer had the icy look in his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I thought I'd give you a tour of the area." Eduardo said. "It's only your second day in the tribe, so you won't really know much. Also, you need to learn some things essential for life in the jungle." Excitement and nerves tingled in Roberto's talons.

"What things?"

"I understand that your friends taught you how to open Brazil nuts, so that's not needed. You need to learn how to fly better and faster. I'll also teach you how to get out of traps." His eyes momentarily flickered to the metal ring on Roberto's ankle. "And camouflage, too."

"_Camouflage?"_

_Later_

"Are you joking?" Roberto stared.

"Not at all." Eduardo said simply, perched on a branch. Enormous puddles lay across the forest floor, but it was mud, not water. Roberto wrinkled his beak in disgust. He didn't want to roll in the mud; it was filthy. Who knew where it had been, what had walked in it? Eduardo nudged him expectantly with his beak. Reluctantly, Roberto landed on the forest floor and cautiously stuck a talon into the mud.

''This is_ disgusting." _Muttered Roberto under his breath as he hesitantly stuck a wing into the mud. It oozed, clinging to his feathers. Taking out the covered wing, he dipped in the other, before beginning to cover the rest of him. Soon, it completely covered his feathers. They soon became stiff and he felt uncomfortable, but he was thoroughly covered in mud. Roberto looked at Eduardo hopefully, hoping he had done it right.

"Good job." Eduardo commented. "Follow me." Roberto followed Eduardo, flying through a little waterfall to get rid of the mud. He was relieved when the water freed his feathers of mud, and he shook his feathers, sending a few water droplets flying. Roberto was finding it difficult to keep up with the older macaw, who was faster, having been flying so much longer then him. Roberto had been flying for a few days whilst Eduardo had been flying for years. "Upwards!" Eduardo commanded suddenly. He flew straight up, Roberto behind him, and then he began flying upside-down and backwards. Roberto blinked, impressed, and began trying to do the same. He managed to fly backwards fairly well, impressing Eduardo. He then dove, the younger macaw following like a dark blue comet.

"What now?" asked Roberto, and a minute later, he fell out of a tangle of vines, landing in a heap. Spitting the vine out of his beak, he pushed the vines away. He had hung upside-down for about four seconds, before he had snapped through the main vine with his beak. Eduardo said it was his most important thing, other than his wings. He was right; the beak was needed for eating, breathing, preening feathers and also freeing oneself from a trap. Roberto basically excelled throughout to entire lesson; he was now almost as fast as Eduardo, knew how to get out of traps, how to fly upside-down and backwards, and camouflage.

"Well done, today." Eduardo said warmly. "You're definitely born to be in the wild, Roberto." Warmth flooded through Roberto; he hadn't expected praise.

"Thank you, sir."

"Nah, just call me Eduardo."

_Later_

"Calling the Beautiful Creatures…" the little group sung, dancing the special dance as they did. Roberto had learned the dance within his first few attempts, and it was very fun. It was an amazing thing to dance, and the song was also well-suited. It was coming to the last part of the song, now. At the last moment, they all flew straight up, throwing out their wings and tossing the yellow flowers. "Whoo-hoo!" there was applause, and then they all noticed that the macaws in the surrounding trees were watching.

"Magnificent!" cried Jacinta, and many other macaws murmured in agreement. After the applause died down, Isabella piped up.

"Hey, how about some water-skiing?" she suggested. They all whooped in agreement, following her to the giant Amazon lily pads. Roberto hadn't played this game before, but he was watched others do it; it looked really fun. Jasper and Elisa went first, flying and leaping onto the lily-pads, skidding across the surface of the plunge pool.

"Sweet!" crowed Manuela. "Roberto, Sophia, your turn next!" Roberto and Sophia flew alongside each other, before they stopped flapped their wings, diving onto a lily pad each. They skidded over the water, reaching further then Jasper and Elisa.

"Nice one, Sophia! Roberto, you're a natural at this, man!" Carlos shouted to Roberto. At that moment, Roberto rolled off the side of the lily pad, drenching his lower hald in water. The others laughed, and Roberto smiled weakly, embarrassed, but it was quickly forgotten as Tobias and Trix went to have their turn. In the trees, Tia came out of the hollow. She whispered urgently to Eduardo and Mimi, who gasped and ran into the hollow after her. The young macaws thought nothing of it, until a few minutes later; Mimi streaked out of the hollow, shouting at the top of her voice.

"It's a girl!" she cried, flying along the tree line, over the plunge pool, and out of the ravine crevice to the surrounding trees, where some other tribe members were. Roberto felt Carlos prod him on the wing.

"I win the bet!" he crowed, eyes bright. "I knew it would be a girl! I knew it! Looks like I get camu-camu for lunch!" Mimi then flew back into the ravine, the other tribe members soon following. She flew back to the tree, but returned moments later with Eduardo, pride brimming in his pale green eyes. Mimi then began shouting again.

"Jewel!" she cried. "She's called Jewel!" Roberto looked at his friends before flying upwards.

"I think it's time for a 'Beautiful Creatures!" he suggested. "To celebrate the little one!" while Tia was tending to her new chick, the rest of the tribe gathered. The females decorated their faces with and dipped their wing-tips in pollen, while the males drew the red plant paint onto their faces. Roberto streaked the red plant paint around his eyes, on his cheeks and around his beak before flying over to the dancing tribe, joining in. _Jewel. That's adorable._


	11. The moment

Roberto peeked into the hollow, hoping to catch a glimpse of the new chick. He moved a bit of the moss curtain aside, peering in, seeing Tia's sleeping form in the dim light of the tree hollow. He didn't see the new hatchling, Jewel, though. Unsuccessful, he let go of the moss curtain, and flew back to his nest, which had become his and his friends' regular meeting place. When asked by them, he hadn't minded, saying, "Mi casa es su casa." Since it was so spacious and a comfortable place to be in, it had been suitable that they meet there and hang out sometimes, if they weren't going out. Manuela and Sophia had joined their little circle of friends, and Roberto hoped that when she was old enough, Jewel could join them too. He swooped into the hollow, where a few of his friends were gathered; Carlos, Manuela, Sophia, Tobias and Isabella. The others were probably sleeping in, as it was still fairly early.

"Any luck?" Isabella asked, and Roberto sighed, shaking his head.

"Nope, not a glimpse."

"Aww, man." Sighed Tobias. "No one has seen Jewel at all yet, other than her family. Eduardo's really protective, thinking that she's too young to come outside. I won't be surprised if he doesn't let her out of the hollow until she can fly."

"Nothing will happen to her." Carlos was sitting beside Manuela, running his beak through his light cerulean wing feathers. "She's basically the heiress; the tribe won't let anything happen to her. Besides, no chick can stay in a tree that long without getting incredibly bored. She'll keep complaining until he either lets her venture outside or she'll go out against his will."

"You're right." Isabella agreed from where she was eating Acai berries, one by one from the stem. "Anyone want a berry?" she held them out, offering them, and Roberto waved his wing, catching two in his beak as she tossed them to him. He chewed, swallowing as Sophia went onto a new topic.

"Anyway, the competition is tomorrow!"she pointed out, excitedly. All eyes turned immediately to Roberto. He chuckled to himself.

"Any of you got any songs?" he asked, looking around. At that moment, Trix and Catia swooped into the hollow, looking excited.

"We've got a song!" they announced together, and they all turned toward them.

"Really?" Manuela stretched out her wings, before straightening out the little stub of head feathers offt n the back of her head; the little feathers were just a "What is it?" Trix and Catia hurried to them, and they all gathered around the twin sisters.

"Okay, it's one of those that makes you really believe in yourself; the tribe'll love it. We're calling it 'The moment'." Trix said, turning to Catia. "Here's the lyrics…" with their talons, they began writing out the lyrics in the dirt beneath their talons. Roberto tipped his head to the side, looking at the words. "Wow. You two have serious talent there."

"Are they good?" Catia asked hopefully, and the others nodded enthusiastically.

"They're great!" Roberto assured the sisters. "I'll tell the tribe that you two wrote them, okie?"

"Sweet." Trix said in a dreamy voice. "Catch you all later; we're going to see our meemaw."

_Later_

Roberto tossed his head feathers out of his eyes, craning his neck to see the audience. He, Carlos, Tobias, Jasper, the twins, Manuela, Sophia Elisa and Isabella were gathered at the edge of the tree line, where the contestants were queuing. They were to be the last ones to sing. Roberto was the main singer while his friends provided back-up vocals. The contestants were going to be standing on the Giant Amazon lily-pads over the plunge pool, and the tree line was swamped in blue as the Spix's macaws watched. They had been practising for hours, and each of them had 'The moment' memorized. Roberto wasn't scared at all; he was completely confident. He looked over toward Eduardo and Tia's tree, where he could make out the forms of Eduardo, Tia, and Mimi. A smaller form was in front of Mimi, who had both her wings lying at the form's sides, as if to steady it or stop it falling off the branch. Roberto then realized; it must be Jewel. He couldn't really see the significant details of her from where he was, but he could tell that she was covered in fluffy chick down. Tia was keeping an eye on her daughter, and Eduardo's eyes were fixed on the drop in front of the branch, as if he was frightened that Jewel would fall off. The host of the contest, Marcos, flew over to the middle of the plunge pool, and the tribe cheered.

"Thank you, thank you!" he cried. "Settle down, now! Welcome to the contest - this time it's singing! We have a variety of contestants, young and old. Our first contestant is Delores - let's have a warm welcome for her!" applause rang out as the slightly old female flew out. Although it was opera style and the tone slow and droning, the singing was actually not bad, and she got warm applause. Several acts passed; there were solos, small bands like Roberto's and large groups that consisted of twenty or more. When Jacinta finished her solo, there was silence. It wasn't good - it was _dreadful. _Some macaws were comparing her to that Keel-Billed toucan that moved down to Rio de Janerio, but they didn't let her hear it, obviously. Jacinta could have a fierce temper. Polite, quiet applause broke the silence, and the quietness was shattered as Jacinta's mate and her ancient mother clapped loudly.

"Bravo!" cried Jacinta's mother, as Jacinta's mate whooped, nudging his and Jacinta's open-beaked chicks, who awkwardly clapped for their mother, embarrassed. After Jacinta returned to her place, Marcos cleared his throat awkwardly, smiling weakly.

"Er… splendid, Jacinta, absolutely _splendid… _who's next? Ah, it's the final act - it's a shame, I didn't want this to end so soon! Anyway, it looks like Carlos, Tobias, Jasper, Elisa, Isabella, Trix, Catia, Manuela, Sophia and Roberto! Fabulous, out you all come."

"Here we go." Jasper smoothed his feathers nervously. They flew out onto the plunge pool, each standing on separate lily pads that were all adjacent to one another in a close circle. Roberto stood on the middle lily pad, ignoring the nerves that had swept over him.

"We'd like to thank Trix and Catia for creating this song!" Carlos declared, nodding at Trix and Catia.

"Alright, hit it!" whispered Sophia. The group began singing in their young voices, setting the tune, and then the lyrics began. They began together. They sang with their hearts, and at the end, the other's singing became quieter. They all threw their wings out to Roberto, like they had on their first hang-out. The end verses weren't as fast as the rest of the song, and were the most beautiful.

_This isn't the moment to cry…_

_Don't you say good-bye._

_You spread your wings and fly,_

_Fly to the sun, to the stars_

_Fly to wherever the wind takes you,_

_For the moon is illuminating your path._

They faded into silence. There was stunned silence. The group looked to the audience, and they looked stunned. The applause then began, so loud that it filled the ravine. Cries and whoops rang out. Every macaw was smiling and cheering. Marcos's eyes were enormous with awe.

"I think we have a winner!" he cried, and the tribe responded eagerly, even the previous contestants shouted their approval. The little band smiled at each other, and bowed as the cheering became louder and louder. Roberto then caught sight of Jewel. Eduardo was flying over, Tia and Mimi behind him. Jewel was clutching to her mother's back, looking awe-struck as she stared at them all.

"Congratulations!" said the three adult macaws, and Jewel stared at Roberto.

"You're voice is amazing!" she squealed, before hiding in her mother's feathers, embarrassed. Warmth flowed through Roberto, and he smiled at the little chick. Jewel was the cutest little chick he had ever seen; her eyes were just like Tia's, turquoise, and she already had a little cluster of feathers on the back of her head.

"Thank you, Jewel." He smiled.


	12. Lost souls

_To see the rest of the events that happened to both Roberto and the tribe (and to avoid confusion in this chapter) _**_please _**_read my story, 'Before Jewel met Blu' (particularly chapter 16 and 17 if you don't want to read the entire story; these two are _**_very significant_**_ for this chapter)._

_A few months later_

The trees were alight with flames. And one was falling toward Eduardo, Tia, and Mimi. Roberto darted out of the path of the falling tree, crashing into Felipe. "Move it!" he shouted, frantically barging past the Scarlet macaw to avoid the tree. Felipe dove after him, crashing to the ground, before flying away, a red blur, shrieking at his tribe to flee. Then, there was an ear-shattering crash. Roberto watched the tree come into contact with the boulder Eduardo, Tia and Mimi had been standing on. He saw two blue blurs; Eduardo and Mimi had dove out of the way, but then there was a scream, abruptly cut off as the tree landed. He knew that scream. _Tia. _Roberto rushed to the tree, landing on the boulder that was exposed. He couldn't see Tia; debris and the tree trunk covered where she had been.

"Tia!" shouted Eduardo's voice. The leader pushed past Roberto, frantically shoving branches and debris aside, until there was a flash of blue. Behind Roberto, Mimi dragged herself onto the boulder, gasping. Roberto heaved against the tree, but it didn't move. The three pushed and shoved, and then it moved a few millimetres.

"Get her!" gasped Roberto, his back trembling from the weight. "Now!" Mimi and Eduardo seized Tia, dragging her out, and Roberto spun round to look. Eduardo and Mimi were silent, blue statues as they stared. Roberto followed their stares. Tia's eyes were glassy, dull. Her beak hung open, blood trickling out of it. Something white yet streaked with red jutted from her back. The beauty from her eyes, her face - gone. It was still there, but not truly there. Her face had once been so full of life, her eyes so full of laughter, but now it was just a stranger covered in familiar feathers with familiar eyes. Roberto's wings flew up to his beak in shock and pure horror. "Tia…"

Eduardo didn't say a word. Suddenly, he then crumpled, Mimi's wings flying out to catch him. Eduardo began squawking at the top of his lungs, tears flying from his green eyes as he and Mimi cradled Tia's broken body. Roberto felt sick to his stomach, and he backed away, wings still covering his beak. His feathers were streaked with sweat and soot, one of his crest feathers torn out by Felipe, but he didn't care. Tears streaked down his cheeks, carving the blue through the soot. He wanted to vomit; the Brazil nut he had eaten earlier was going to come up."I…" he whispered. "I… I'm so sorry." Mimi slowly looked up at him, and then she looked around through her tear-filled eyes. She whispered, barely audible.

"_Jewel…"_ she choked. Roberto froze. _Ju-Ju. Where… where is she? _Eduardo continued weeping, crumpled over his mate's body, not hearing.

"I'll find her." Roberto rasped. Then he darted away without waiting for a reply, forcing down his grief for Tia._ "Jewel!" _he shouted, eyes wild and reflecting the flaming rainforest. _"Ju-Ju!" _he swooped beneath a falling branch, squawking as cinders scorched his head, singing the crest feathers. He flew through the Brazil nut grove, despite the fact that it was on fire. Every tree was ignited, the flames clawing toward the sky, which was drowned out by smoke. Brazil nuts were raining down, and he dodged them. "Jewel!" he cried again, scanning the trees and the forest floor. Then he saw a red patch through the smoke. Felipe was on the forest floor, screaming his head off. He was shoving desperately at a heap of branches.

"Adelaide!" he was shouting. "Adelaide!" Roberto rushed down.

"Felipe!" he gasped. Felipe spun round, eyes mad and wild with fear.

"S-she won't m-move!" he wailed. Roberto looked down. "I was flying, I saw some red… and I called to her, I called and called, but she wouldn't wake up!" Adelaide lay there on her back, the lower half of her body crushed and trapped by branches. A shard of wood was embedded in her stomach, and she wasn't breathing. Her soft brown eyes were dull and glassy, like Tia's had been. Roberto gasped, rushing forward. He and Felipe shoved the branches, until Adelaide was free. Felipe cradled her in his wings, wailing like a chick, his eyes bloodshot from crying. The tears continued to fall down his face. He tugged the wooden shard out of her stomach, throwing it aside with disgust before staring into Adelaide's dull eyes. "Please, Adelaide!" he pleaded, shaking her with his wings. His voice ebbed away to a whisper. _"Please…" _

"Felipe…" whispered Roberto. "I'm sorry." Felipe ignored him, not speaking now, but weeping. Roberto hesitantly reached out, touching Felipe's wing in a comforting gesture. Felipe wept again, crumpling over Adelaide's body. As much as he hated Felipe, Roberto would never dream of taunting Felipe over his lost. His sobs then faded.

"Help me take her home." He sobbed, barely audible. So the two enemies put their differences aside, carrying Adelaide back to the Scarlet macaw tribe territory. The tribe had taken refuge in the cave they used for meetings. Several bodies lay, covered in leaves. Roberto and Felipe lay Adelaide down gently. Azalea, the Scarlet macaw tribe scorekeeper, ran forward, for she had been Adelaide's cousin. Felipe and Azalea continued to cry over the body. Roberto looked around.

"I'm… I'm so sorry." He choked. Felipe slowly looked up. Then he screamed unexpectedly, and other Scarlet macaws spun round in shock at the sudden noise.

"Get out!" he shouted. "Get out!" he shoved Roberto brutally, so heftily that Roberto fell over. Roberto scrabbled to his talons as Felipe shouted abuse at him. Roberto spun round, fleeing, leaving the tribe to grieve. He flew through the still-burning rainforest, flying over Adelaide's death place. Then he saw it. A tiny blue dash. He landed on the ground, and gently pulled it free of a pile of ash. A single flower lay beside it, the petals singed. The feather was covered in ash, but silky and delicate. It was Jewel's feather. Horror burned through him. Roberto_looked around. Jewel had been here, but she hadn't killed Adelaide. But she was nowhere to be seen._

_A few minutes later_

Roberto flew slowly, clutching the feather of his loved one like a lifeline. His skin beneath his feathers was deathly pale. He had looked and looked. He had turned the grove upside-down, but hadn't found Jewel. He flew over the ravine, barely noticing the fact that the trees the Spix's macaws had called their homes were on fire. He flew into the cave behind the waterfall, where everyone had fled to. Eduardo and Mimi were shrunk in one corner, still hunched over Tia's corpse. Roberto dreaded telling them, but he had to. He slowly walked over to Eduardo and Mimi, who looked up immediately. Their eyes then feel on the feather in his talons. They were silent. Then Eduardo shrieked. His wings threw over his head, and he sank to the ground, weeping once again into Tia's now-cold feathers. Mimi began crying once again, gently taking the feather and cradling it to herself. More tears spilled down his cheeks, and then he saw his friends crying over Jasper's and Elisa's lifeless bodies. Roberto whispered to Mimi and Eduardo.

"I'm sorry, Eduardo, Mimi…" he choked, before turning away, staggering over to Jasper ad Elisa's bodies. He whispered again, barely audible. "If I could change time, I would."


	13. 16 years later

_16 years later_

Six Spix's macaws flew through the cliffs, over the plunge pool. One had pale green eyes, flattened head feathers, and was old compared to the other five. Three were chicks, their green and hazel-brown eyes wide in awe at the sights. Two were females, and one was a male. Behind the old male, was a female, half his age; she had light blue feathers like her two daughters. And at the back flew her mate, his feathers dark blue and his hazel-brown eyes wide. A brown object was tied around his waist, a human object, but the oldest male hadn't yet noticed in his joy. A Toco-toucan, a Red-crested cardinal and a canary also flew alongside the six macaws. The older male was shouting at the top of his voice, and Spix's macaws streamed from the cliffs and the trees as the words reached their ears.

In one tree, a form was sleeping, having not woken up. He was collapsed in his nest, sleeping on his back. The crest feathers were cascaded over his face as his slept. He was snoring slightly, beak hanging open as he snored, and his wings were hanging out on either side of his nest. He had had been up late last night, singing in front of the entire tribe, and had been so tired that he hadn't even made it properly to his nest until falling asleep.

"Roberto!" cried an excited voice. "Roberto!" Roberto mumbled, but didn't wake. He instead rolled onto his side, continuing to snore quietly. Sophia stuck her head into the nest. Slender and beautiful, Sophia had become a stunner in the tribe's females. Her rivalry with Azalea, the Scarlet macaw scorekeeper, was still as hostile as when they had first started scoring. They both actually looked quite similar in shape and looks. Felipe had been depressed for months after Adelaide's death, but since then he had bonded with Azalea. Felipe's hostile, taunting personality had returned; he now more frequently spoke in rhymes and came irritatingly close to the Brazil nut grove border, calling Eduardo 'Old Eddie', to his frustration. Sophia hopped into the hollow. "Hey! Wakey wakey!" she shook Roberto, but he covered his head with his wings. Sophia sighed, and then she caught sight of the little pool of water Roberto had. Picking up a bowl-shaped piece of wood, she scooped out some water and threw it onto Roberto's head. He immediately sat up.

"Okay, okay!" he yawned. "I'm awake, I've been up for hours…" his head rolled again, his eyes shutting, but then he stood up abruptly, shaking his head to get rid of the water droplets. Sophia's heart fluttered a little as the crest feathers flew through the air before settling back onto Roberto's head.

"Awake, huh? Yeah, I really believe you. Anyway - you won't believe it!"

"Won't believe what?" Roberto stretched out his wings, showing off his impressive wingspan.

"Jewel." She said simply. Roberto looked dumbfounded.

"What do you mean, Jewel?"

"Ju-Ju!" Sophia reached over, shaking him slightly, smiling. "Your childhood friend, who we all thought was dead? She's _alive,_ Roberto! She's got a mate - Blu, or something like that - and three beautiful little kids, I heard they were called Bia, Carla, and Tiago. She's changed - you won't believe how much she looks like her mom." Roberto was quiet for a moment, and then he gasped.

"You're _serious? _She - she's really back?_"_

"Obviously! If it was a joke, wouldn't it be a tad inappropriate? Come on, Carlos, Manuela, Tobias, Trix, Isabella and Catia are waiting for you so that we can welcome her back! I hope you've got a song!" Sophia flew out of the nest, flying in the direction of where the friends had gathered. Roberto ran over the little pool of water, studying his reflection, getting rid of scraps of leaf from his feathers. _She's a got a mate and kids - I can barely believe it. _The familiar flame tickled his heart, but then it faded. _She's got a mate, buddy. You haven't got a chance with her anymore. _Roberto shrugged to himself. _Oh, well. I can still be her childhood friend, can't I? I'm sure this 'Blu' won't mind if we're friends. Besides… _Roberto looked out of the nest, seeing the shrinking form of Sophia as she flew off. _Sophia's awfully pretty._

Roberto snapped up a few Acai berries, drank a bit of water, and then flew quickly after Sophia. He caught a glimpse of Eduardo and the eight newcomers, the five Spix's and the three other birds. He didn't see Jewel properly, but he saw the chicks and her mate. The younger looking daughter looked a lot like Jewel; the Jewel he remembered, only she was a bit younger then the Jewel he had lost so many years ago. The elder looking daughter was a little chubby and had striking green eyes. Both of them resembled the Jewel he remembered. The boy bore little resemblance to Jewel, but he did look an awful lot like Blu. Blu had dark blue feathers, which was suitable based by his name. His eyes were hazel-brown like the boy's and the youngest girl's, and there were three little feathers sticking up on the back of his neck. There seemed to be a brown object tied to his waist, but that didn't matter, did it? Roberto eventually found his friends, who still looked how that had when they were younger - despite the obvious change in shape and height. Manuela still had the little feather sticking up on the back of her head, Tobias was still as bright blue as ever and the twins looked near identical. The only way they could be told apart was the little flowers tucked in their head feathers; Trix had a bright pink one, Catia had a yellow one.

"Hey, look, it's Mimi!" Carlos pointed. The friends stifled giggling as Mimi practically threw herself at Jewel. Sophia then waved a wing.

"Let's go, there's the flower curtain up near them right now." The group flew along, keeping hidden, before they hid behind the flower curtain. They listened in on the conversation. There was then a moment of quiet. Roberto nodded to them all; this was the moment. Carlos and Tobias reached toward the flower curtain, and Roberto began to sing as it was opened.

_**The end of my second Rio fan fiction! I hope you all liked it. To see more events involving Jewel and Roberto and to see their relationship in that time, please read 'Before Jewel met Blu'. It will clear up any confusion you may have, and it has some very interesting events including the characters, major and less key, in this story.**_

_**All fan-made characters in this fan fiction belong to me, so I'm afraid you can't use them. You'll have to make characters of your own. **_

_**Thank you! Xxx**_


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